Rodri Apologizes to Valencia Squad for Controversial Remarks

Rodri has moved to defuse a brewing storm in Spain by apologising to the entire Valencia squad after being caught on camera apparently branding them “very weak”.

The Barcelona midfielder was filmed on the bench at Mestalla during Sunday’s 5-0 win, speaking with team-mates Pau Cubarsi and Raphinha after being substituted. With Valencia already reeling at the bottom of La Liga and winless in their first four games, the images landed badly.

There was no audio on the clip, but broadcaster Movistar said their lip-readers had picked up Rodri saying: “They’re really weak. They haven’t got past the halfway line.” That was enough to ignite anger among Valencia fans and draw criticism from sections of the Spanish media, who accused the 30-year-old of disrespect.

The backlash followed Rodri into Europe. After Barcelona’s 5-1 victory over Feyenoord in the Champions League on Wednesday, the Spain international addressed the controversy head on.

“I apologised to my friend and colleague Jose Gaya and to the entire squad as well,” he said, referring to the Valencia captain and fellow Spain defender.

Rodri insisted the comment had been misunderstood and stripped of context.

“I also want to make it clear that it was simply an expression of surprise – anyone watching the video can see that,” he explained. “At no point did I intend to mock anyone or take a difficult moment for a team out of context.”

He then went out of his way to praise the struggling club.

“Quite the opposite – we all want Valencia to return to where it belongs in the league, it is one of the best clubs in the competition. I simply wanted to say that.”

Rodri also pushed back at how the incident had been handled, stressing that the exchange on the bench was never meant for public consumption.

“I would also add that it was a private conversation; I think we should all learn a bit more from this, as things really do get taken out of context sometimes. But at no point did I mean any disrespect. My apologies to Valencia.”

The words are out there now, the apology too. What lingers is the reminder that in modern football, even a muttered aside on the bench can turn into a national talking point.